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Sexual Assault by U.S. Soldiers in Japan

On October 17th, U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos expressed deep regret over the alleged rape of an Okinawan woman by two U.S. service members amid an intensifying outcry over the U.S. basis in Okinawa. This August, an U.S. marine was arrested and charged with sexual assault in Naha City, Okinawa. American soldiers have been committing sexual assaults and criminal DUI offenses such as vehicular homicide or vehicular manslaughter every year in Japan, especially in Okinawa. The Japanese and U.S. governments must take decisive measures to eliminate such atrocious crimes by American soldiers in Japan.

On the 17th, at midnight, two U.S. Navy sailors allegedly spoke to a local woman on the street, but were ignored. They reportedly ran after, choked, and raped her. After raping her, they took away her handbag.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwaker, 23, has admitted the allegations while Seaman Christopher Browning, 23, has denied them. However, her belongings were found in both of their rooms.

On the 17th, about 80 people gathered in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo to protest against the rape of the Japanese woman by U.S. soldiers in Okinawa. I hope this sexual assault will fuel calls for Washington and Tokyo to revise the States of Forces Agreement.

On the 19th, the U.S. Commander in Japan apologized for the incident, and announced that all U.S. military personnel in the country would now be subject to a curfew and other restrictions. The curfew extends from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., but does not extend to private contractors or the family members of servicemen. I believe, however, this measure is far from sufficient. A similar curfew was imposed in 2008 when a junior high school girl was also raped in Okinawa. Still, U.S. soldiers, mainly marines, have been committing sexual assault and vehicular homicide under the influence.

The Nikkei Shimbun proposed that U.S forces not dispatch soldiers with limited military experience because most soldiers committing crimes have served in the military for a relatively short time. However, I don’t believe this measure would be effective. Human character does not change easily. Sincere people never commit crimes while criminally oriented persons repeat committing crimes. There are soldiers with criminal records among U.S. marines. Japan should prohibit such individuals from entering Japan without exception.

The U.S. commander should impose a complete curfew to ban military personnel from going off base, and the U.S. forces should prepare all entertainment on base.

However, the ultimate solution to eradicate crimes by U.S. soldiers in Japan is to fully rearm Japan to have the U.S. forces withdraw from Japan. The GHQ forced Japan the unrealistic constitution. It’s time that we revised it. It’s a matter of course for any countries to defend its citizens and territory by itself.